THE KITCHEN FRONT

Jennifer Ryan

(Pan Macmillian, $32.99) World War II. To help housewives with rationing, BBC radio show The Kitchen Front is holding a cooking contest – and the prize is a job as the first-ever female co-host. For a young widow, it’s a chance to pay off her husband’s debts. For a kitchen maid, it’s a chance to leave servitude. For a lady of the manor, it’s a chance to escape her hostile husband. And for a chef, it’s a chance to challenge the men at the top of her profession.